Archaeologists in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge have discovered 27 bone tools dating back 1.5 million years, pushing back the known timeline of bone tool use by a million years.
The tools, crafted from the bones of large animals like hippos and elephants, were found at the T69 Complex, FLK West site. Analysis reveals that *Homo erectus* possessed the cognitive skills to transfer stone tool-making techniques to bone, enabling them to create tools suitable for butchering and chopping.
This discovery, published in *Nature*, indicates a significant advancement in early hominin technology, allowing them to adapt to environments where suitable stone was scarce.
The Olduvai Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is renowned for its rich record of human evolution, including fossilized bones and stone tools spanning nearly 2 million years.